North Wash Conditions Report - 10/28/10
Went out to North Wash over the past weekend; here's what we found:
The road to the Poison Springs canyons was much rougher than last year. Carefully driven mid-clearance vehicles (like a Subaru) could make it to the trailhead in dry conditions (as could a rental car... ;) 4WD's won't have an issue.
Slideanide is wet; there was more water than I had seen in there before. Plenty of wades and about 5 swimmers. Some were avoidable with skill and effort; but not all of them could be avoided. Wetsuits recommended for all but the quickest moving and warmest blooded groups.
Both Blarney forks are mostly dry; any water in them can be avoided.
Left and Right Leprechaun forks are dry to the confluence; then there is one waist deep pool which is unavoidable (unless you want severe effort and risk) at the dark subway section before the large subway section. The rock breakdown section in Belfast Boulevard has also changed this year, and it's a much tighter squeeze to get up and out.
Morocco is holding a bunch of water too. The first rappel (which we bypassed) drops you into water, and there are three pools before you even hit the arch. We dropped in just past the arch, and still found a decent amount of water. (There were several wades and one unavoidable swim.) If you have a larger or slower group; you will likely want wetsuits.
There was a short, but powerful, rainstorm on Saturday night; so conditions could be a little more wet than stated above for all canyons other than Morocco (which we did on Sunday.)
I'll have pics and a trip report much later; working on finishing house projects - then need to catch up on photos since May trips...
Hope that helps,
A.J.
